


In Silence

by Hesesols



Series: Moments in Time [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:02:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27268435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hesesols/pseuds/Hesesols
Summary: Day6of IR week: Silence speaks louder than both words and actions combined. And sometimes when you say nothing— that is when I hear you scream the loudest.Heartbreak is like this.
Relationships: Kuchiki Rukia/Kurosaki Ichigo
Series: Moments in Time [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891315
Comments: 14
Kudos: 21
Collections: Ichiruki week





	In Silence

**.**

Without fanfare, without preamble; with neither a swan song nor a banshee's shriek to herald its arrival, the beginning of the end is eerie in its silence.

The world watches on with bated breath.

"Rukia—"

She's disappearing.

Amber eyes widen. Knowing what consequences entail- the price for saving the world comes at the cost of his own and seeing its effects are two very different things.

Surprise is mirrored in her eyes when their eyes flit to each other.

He stands helpless, resigned to his role as a passive onlooker, to watch as she slowly fades away before his eyes- outlines blurring, being smudged out from existence, ocean eyes deep enough to drown in—

All the knowing, all the warnings in the world- it still wouldn't have prepared him for _this_.

The fists in the depths of his pocket clench, resisting the urge to reach out, to touch her _for the first and last time_ because this is already hard enough as it is. He falls back on old habits, hides his fears, his tears- hides it all behind a smile that's too brittle to be genuine.

.

_Inhale, exhale- even when it hurts to breathe._

.

Their eyes meet. They both know what's coming.

Fate is inescapable and there is no hiding from it. This much he knows as he holds her stare, drowning in the ocean of sadness that he finds there.

Everything and nothing is said in the look they share.

This is enough, he tells himself. Silence is golden. What they have between them- words would only cheapen it somehow.

He swallows the lump in his throat, keeps his eyes wide open, keeping them dry; scarcely even daring to blink. Goodbyes are hard and the last thing he wants to do is to bring her pain, so he suffers in silence.

Being brave is a choice and he gives a thin, watery smile reminiscent of a frown when grief floods his lungs.

Amid his racing thoughts and bleeding heart—

They both know. Deep down inside, he is only ever one step away from falling apart.

If she were to close that distance between them, to reach out for him— for even the tips of her fingers to ghost his cheek, he would have shattered. He would have let the world burn if it meant that things would stay the same, to keep her close.

If he were any less of a hero, any less selfless, the words would have taken hold of him, broken free from his vow of solemn silence and there would be nothing to stop them, nothing to take them back. He would have told her- _begged_ her to stay.

If feelings were tangible and emotions were coloured—

If the strengths of their hearts- the resolve to suffer in silence only wavered—

Would they learn to be brave, to stop thinking, to let go of their insecurities and simply _be?_

.

_Would they call this love?_

.

The countdown begins and he is choking on air.

.

_Wait!_

_._

Their time is up.

.

_Stop!_

_._

This is too late for introspection, too late for what-ifs, or what could-have-been, should-have-been.

This is goodbye- forever.

.

_I need more time—_

_._

He blinks.

She is gone with a sudden gust of wind that tousles his hair. He tries to hold on to her scent- soft, warm, familiar enough to make his heart ache in its absence; before it is displaced by the overwhelming petrichor.

His vision turns blurry.

Summer rain on a cloudless day, this pain—

Will it ever go away?

.

_Inhale, exhale- **especially** when it hurts to breathe._

.

.

.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: emotional motion sickness (I can't seem to drown you out)
> 
> The 5 stages of drowning: surprise, involuntary breath holding, hypoxic convulsions, unconsciousness, death


End file.
